Posts Tagged ‘movie’
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So yesterday I mentioned that iCarly won it’s third Kid’s Choice Award. Pretty good! Now, if you think that’s impressive watch this: I’m a grown man and I’m willing to admit that iCarly is one of my favorite shows on television. Yep, you read that right. I’m okay with admitting it too, because it’s not some powderpuff kids slop. Not even close. It’s smart, witty, well written comedy that works for all ages. I know I’m not the only adult that likes the show either, cause at my ‘real’ job I know three parents who have told me they like to watch the show with their kids. A show that knows how to speak to young adults like their people and not some type of market brand is rare. A show like iCarly that reaches multiple generations at one time is even rarer.
Now, it’s true that a portion of iCarly‘s success comes from great actors like Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, and Jerry Trainor. Sure. But, in the case of this show, you have to give credit to the creator and writer Dan Schneider.
Dan with the cast of iCarly
Oh, but we should expect that level of skill from Dan – after all you’ll find his name on the credits of several popular shows. See, Dan is the creative force behind a whole slew of Nickelodeon powerhouses. Check it – besides iCarly there’s also Drake and Josh, Victorious, Zoey 101, Kenan and Kel, The Amanda Show, and even All That. If you grew up watching Nickelodeon, or if you’re watching it now for the first time, then you’ll realize that’s an impressive list.
Oh, and that doesn’t even mention the WB success What I Like About You, which gained an even broader fanbase from syndication. Not to mention the movies Good Burger and Big Fat Liar. Yeah, Dan was a creator, co-creator, and/or writer for all of those too.
Now THAT is a resume!
Dan with Drake Bell
So, what’s even more amazing then that? Dude LOVES his fans. LOVES them. Spoils them in fact. I’ve been following him on Twitter @Danwarp for about a year now and hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t link to backstage pictures, or a blog with notes from the recent shows, mini-interview videos of the casts, or maybe just a funny story about lunch with one of his young stars. In fact, one of the funniest days was when he was teaching Miranda Cosgrove to drive. Yeah, he tells those stories and shares those pictures.
I’d go so far to say that Dan has one of the most entertaining twitter feeds I’ve had the priviledge to follow and I highly recommend that any other fans of any of his shows – or just of funny backstage info – tags that follow button. It won’t take long to appreciate his sense of humor.
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It’s a busy month people! Heck, it’s a busy weekend! Opening Day for Major League Baseball, college hoops Final Four, the Country Music Awards, and Wrestlemania all happen(ed) this weekend!! But, amongst all that mess there’s one big event that I still enjoy every year: Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards.
This year the KCAs were hosted by Jack Black – that’d be his second time hosting. I’ve said, often, that I think Jack Black is one of the best adult actors to work with young adults and kids. I thought when he hosted the show before he was great. Sadly, this time he didn’t seem as interested. He didn’t feel like his normal bouncing around the stage shouting like a rocker Jack Black self. He was okay, but a bit stiff and kinda dull really. That said, he did a GREAT job on the opening where he lead a giant dance number to one of the Black Eyed Peas songs. That was a ton of fun. There was also a great exchange at the end of the show with Jim Carrey that lead to both of them getting slimmed. He did take his slime like a champion.
Now, if you’ve not seen the Kids Choice Awards before – there’s three parts to each show. The host, the music, and the slime. I’d wager most kids don’t even know WHERE the slime comes from anymore, but as long as Nickelodeon is a television channel, I’m 100% certain there will be people getting slimmed. This year included Josh Duhamel, Snoop Dogg, and Heidi Klum all getting coated in green goop. I’m still not certain if Heidi knew it was coming or not, because while she looked shocked at the moment it hit her, she also took the disaster with such calm grace I could’ve sworn she had a trial slimming pre-show. Either way though, you have to admire anyone who’s willing to come to a kid’s awards show that well dressed and take three liters of slime with that much charm. Bravo to her!
Now, there was one other slimming that happened, and it was – to me – the highlight of the show. Russell Brand and Modern Family child star Rico Rodriguez came out to present an award when the kids in the audience (who had been slimmed themselves a few times) started throwing handfuls of green slop at the pair. Some people may have freaked out, but Brand soaked it in and stole the show. He jumped infront of poor Rico and started shouting back to the kids “I am ENGLISH, I am your ROYALTY! You naughty, naughty children!” It was endearing and hilarious all at once. It’s nice to see a comedian with a good sense of humour.
Winners at the show are given an orange blimp, which is actually pretty cool looking. Some of the winners included Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Black Eyed Peas for musical acts. Shaq was the male athlete of the year, which proves kids don’t watch sports. Lindsey Vonn was the female athlete. American Idol won a fourth reality show blimp, and iCarly won a third blimp for their show. Karate Kid was the movie of the year, and Despicable Me was the best animated movie (which I think is a bit of an upset.) Eddie Murphy was the voice actor, Johnny Depp and Miley Cyrus the movie actor and actress, and Jacki Chan the “buttkicker.” Dylan Sprouse was the better twin for his TV actor blimp, Jennette McCurdy was the sidekick, and Selena Gomez was the television actress. Oh, and Spongebob Squarepants won yet another blimp for cartoon.
All winners are decided by popular vote from the kids, thus the name of the awards show. It’s nice to see the kids get a voice and even when I don’t agree at all with a choice (see Shaq) I just have to shrug and let it go. As much as I try, I don’t think like a kid.
Which is why I’m not sure how Willow Smith’s song about flipping her hair is so popular. The kids went crazy for her performance though, which felt a little Pink inspired as she was cable-lifted over the audience. I actually enjoyed Big Time Rush’s song and it was cool to see Snoop Dogg join them on stage…and then subsequently get coated in slime. Even the Black Eyed Peas were pretty good, but after their Super Bowl performance they could only do better.
Oh, and I was wrong about The Miz showing up. There was a WWE wrestler present though, as the Big Show emceed the Monster Truck Slime event. It was actually REALLY cool to watch this monster truck hit a dirt ramp, jump a giant blimp balloon, and then land in a shallow pool of slime. I was even cheering. It was a great show.
Really, the whole program was a blast. Musical numbers, a crowd of kids so loud they drowned out the mics sometimes, adults and kids all having a mess of fun (literally), and a lot of good laughs for an hour and a half. It’s little wonder why the KCAs are one of the very VERY few awards shows I ever like to watch.
Now, if you missed out on the fun, don’t worry – Nickelodeon is usually pretty good about replaying it a few times during the month. Plus, eventually, everything ends up on the net one way or the other. Congrats to all the winners, and maybe if I’m lucky next year I can go be there live and get slimmed too! Yeah, that’s right, I wanna get slimmed!
… but only at an official KCA show so don’t just walk up and toss slime on me folks. That’d be gross.
(The following review is intended to be spoiler free, but since the movie isn’t out for a week I thought it was only fair to warn you ahead of time. Again, I do my best to avoid spoilers but you have been warned.)
This weekend Rob and I were invited to an early screening of the new movie Dinner for Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. It’s the first movie the two have done together since The 40 Year Old Virgin when they were both still earning their fame. Obviously, since then, they’ve risen the ranks quickly. Steve’s been headlining a little show called The Office and been in a few movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart, and Date Night. Paul stared in movies like Role Models and I Love You, Man. If you’ve seen at least one movie from each of these guys, then you probably have no doubt the two could carry a movie together.
Oh, and also, that new up-and-comer Zach Galifianakisarscosamoosekaneenisesaos is also in the movie. You know, the goofy guy from Hangover? Yeah. He’s in this too.
To start with, this movie is a comedy about a normal guy (Rudd) trying to get a promotion by impressing his boss with the best ‘idiot’ (Carell) at a dinner where the guests make fun of the losers. My concern going into this movie was that with an idiot dinner as the basis of the comedy the humor would be nonsensical and over-the-top. To my great surprise it was the absolute opposite. The writers did a great job of keeping the story in a zone of plausible – instead of a bunch of people being stupid simply for stupid’s sake, most everything that happened in the movie felt like something that actually could happen. Carell’s idiot was far more a naive, good-hearted simpleton and less a crazy person. That has a really endearing effect, allowing the audience to become sympathetic for the character while still appreciating the humor in the stupid things he does.
As good as Carell’s character is – and lets be fair, it’s a mix of the script and the actor – Rudd’s character never really blossoms. This time I’m gonna blame the script, cause there is no doubt in my mind that Paul Rudd can play a normal, everyday guy. His entire career is based on playing that guy. He’s the Sandra Bullock of guys. He still manages to be that normal guy in this movie. The problem is that the writers forgot to give him a clear motivation. The character is just kind of a mix of internal struggles, bouncing between conflicts without a lot of clarity to what drives him. At the end of the movie there’s a nice little summary, but at that point you’ve lost any chance to understand him or why he’s so conflicted. Still, even with that lacking Rudd does a great job playing counter to Carell’s antics and his acting actually makes you forget (for the most part) what a poorly fleshed out character he’s playing.
Now, I don’t want that criticism to carry too heavy. Overall the movie is fantastic and that one flaw was really an after-thought I had while talking with Rob about the movie. It certainly didn’t hurt the movie while I was watching itl. Especially since I spent 90% of my time in the theater laughing. The humor is mostly one liners that are well written and tend to build on themselves, and they’re crafted so well they never feel tired. There are also some great ‘goofy’ moments, and the best part about those is that the director sells out for them. What I mean is that when a goofy moment is about to happen you know before it starts and I found myself laughing in anticipation of what was going to happen and then laughing harder when it did. No tricks, no sucker punches, no bait and switch, no spit takes. What you think is going to happen does, and when it does you can’t stop laughing cause Carell and Rudd sell it perfectly. Simple but so very effective.
The movie is rated PG-13 and I think that’s exactly right. Mostly it’s pretty tame. The language is never too foul. There are some sexual conversations and jokes, but the content of those conversations is about on par with an episode of Family Guy or South Park. In my opinion it was pretty mild and not really very offensive.
I’d highly recommend the movie to anyone who’s a fan of smart comedy. Ironic to call a movie about idiots smart, but that’s really what it is. In a packed theater, the entire crowd was laughing out loud almost from beginning to end. For me, it was the best comedy since Hangover.
When you get to see it, let me know what you think with a comment or a tweet! Enjoy the movie!
